I have been composing in the studio recently and have come out with a very very incomplete rough draft of one of my songs, but I would like some input (constructive) from some fellow aca-geeks. Im trying to branch out in a new direction and try somthing diffrent than whats already out there, something honest and from the heart. Thanks in advance.
The song "She gave me my name" can be heard on facebook on my artist page. Just look up "Ahren". Again keep in mind its by no means even close to being done, its still the composition edit, not the real one yet.
Thanks again,
Ahren

Overall, I really like where the song's going. That may, of course, be affected by the fact that I like a lot of what you list as your musical influences and can hear their influence in your composition.

As far as some constructive response, I've got a few ideas. For one thing, as the song develops it may be beneficial to think real hard about the melody throughout the song. It's not particularly grabbing during the verses, I think. While pleasant and melodic are obviously not your goal, it should still fit with the backgrounds and content, and I feel like that 'fit' breaks down in a few places. This issue may fix itself as you build the recording with more high-quality tracks, but just be aware of it.

You use that pad of oos throughout the song to fill out certain sections. Is that the final instrument for those portions, or just filler for this edit? I'm not opposed to it, but if it's going to stay that way, you might be able to achieve some interesting effects by playing with vowels in those sections.

Good luck with your compositions. You've already made it further than I have with any of my own :)

I really like the outro (from 1:45 til the end)... it has the makings of a cool build and a dramatic ending for the song.

I agree with Jesus that you may want to re-evaluate the verse melodies from a "hook" standpoint. Bear in mind that this commentary is coming from someone who writes pop songs, so I tend to listen to music with that sort of mindset. That said, one of the easiest ways for me to rate a song is by my ability to recall the melody after the first listen. Your verse melodies are definitely interesting, but they're also a bit scattered, which makes it difficult for them to "stick" in peoples' minds. That said, the beginning of the second verse "Mother said to grandma..." stuck with me. Maybe expand upon that, or bring a repetition of that melodic phrase into the verse?

A question about the chorus: I'm having trouble pinning down the 'genre' of the song, so I can't tell if it's intentional... but is the chorus supposed to be a "sampled" melody (i.e. an established song's melody with new lyrics -- like that Lil Romeo song did with "I Want You Back" a number of years ago)?

thanks for the new input, i appreciate it. As for the sampled chorus, not at all. I wrote it all myself. I like to think my chorus' are the catchy part and my verses the thoughtful parts. The genre is still in question. I want to think of myself as an alternative artist, with a new kind of style, but that could just be wishful thinking. Thanks again.
Ahren

it could have been a progression running through my head, i performed moondance with my group in high school, so I wont deny that the prgression is there, but not purposely, just was on my mind probably.